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STORIES THAT SHAPE US Collection

Best Fiction & Literature Books

Best Fiction & Literature Books

The novels and literary works that CEOs, creators, and visionaries name as the stories that changed how they see the world.

The Council

The Literary
Tastemakers

Curated by the world’s most influential readers & thinkers.

48 books in Fiction & Literature

35 books in Fiction & Literature

All 1059 Fiction & Literature Books

1984

Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson

Read by Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Jordan Peterson and 11 others

The Lord of the Rings

Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel
Elon Musk
Elon Musk
Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman

Read by Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman and 8 others

Atlas Shrugged

Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel
Elon Musk
Elon Musk
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs

Read by Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and 8 others

The Alchemist

LeBron James
LeBron James
Daniel Ek
Daniel Ek
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams

Read by LeBron James, Daniel Ek, Pharrell Williams and 8 others

Siddhartha

Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss
Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant
Bryan Johnson
Bryan Johnson

Read by Tim Ferriss, Naval Ravikant, Bryan Johnson and 7 others

The Great Gatsby

Wong Kar Wai
Wong Kar Wai
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren

Read by Wong Kar Wai, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ralph Lauren and 5 others

The Brothers Karamazov

Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson

Read by Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Jordan Peterson and 4 others

The Fountainhead

Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison
Chip Wilson
Chip Wilson

Read by Donald Trump, Larry Ellison, Chip Wilson and 4 others

Brave New World

Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson
Siddhartha Mukherjee
Siddhartha Mukherjee
Ben Shapiro
Ben Shapiro

Read by Jordan Peterson, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Ben Shapiro and 4 others

Dune

Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos
Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer

Read by Tim Ferriss, Jeff Bezos, Hans Zimmer and 3 others

The Three-Body Problem

Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg
Tobias Lütke
Tobias Lütke

Read by Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Tobias Lütke and 3 others

Don Quixote

Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud

Read by Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud and 3 others

The Consensus

Most Endorsed

1
14Endorsed
#1 Most Endorsed

1984

A dystopian novel set in a totalitarian superstate where the Party exerts total control over its citizens through mass surveillance and the Thought Police. The story follows Winston Smith, a worker at the Ministry of Truth, as he attempts to maintain his individuality and search for truth amidst state-mandated propaganda. The work examines how the manipulation of language and historical records can be used as tools of political oppression.

2

The Lord of the Rings

The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the King

11 endorsements
3

Atlas Shrugged

Set in a dystopian United States, the story follows railroad executive Dagny Taggart as she navigates a crumbling economy where the nation's most productive citizens are mysteriously disappearing. The novel explores the philosophical conflict between rational self-interest and collectivism through the search for a legendary figure named John Galt.

11 endorsements
4

The Alchemist

A Fable About Following Your Dream

11 endorsements
These pieces have been, and will I think during my life continue to be, to me, the source of daily and exalted pleasure. The tender and the sublime emotions of the mind were never before so wrought up by the human hand. I am not ashamed to own that I think this rude bard of the North the greatest Poet that has ever existed.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson3rd US President & Declaration Author
Sipsworth is a love story about a woman and a mouse. Reason suggests that such a relationship couldn't possibly work, and yet I found myself pulling for this unlikely duo on every page. Simon Van Booy's characters are loaded with charm, resilience, and the deep desire for connection that all mammals share. I loved it.
Ann Patchett
Ann PatchettAward-winning Novelist & Bookstore Owner
Sorrow and Bliss is a brilliantly faceted and extremely funny book about depression that engulfed me in the way I'm always hoping to be engulfed by novels. While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know.
Ann Patchett
Ann PatchettAward-winning Novelist & Bookstore Owner
Buckeye is a glorious sweep of a novel, full of love and war and the perilous intimacies of smalltown life. It's funny and tender, realistic and strange. Patrick Ryan has long been one of my favorite writers. I have a feeling that with this book he's going to be everyone's favorite writer.
Ann Patchett
Ann PatchettAward-winning Novelist & Bookstore Owner
Setting aside the political football this book evokes, this book champions the entrepreneurial drive to invent products and run a great company. This includes rewarding employees who are responsible, who do not complain, who move to action and think for themselves as partners and equals.
Chip Wilson
Chip Wilsonlululemon Founder & Philanthropist
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All 1059 Fiction & Literature Books